Support unit for umbrella ferrule

ABSTRACT

An end unit mounted to an umbrella ferrule includes a tube, a ball and a pad. The tube has a top collar connected to the top thereof and a bottom member is received in the tube. A room is defined between the bottom member and the lower end of the tube. The ball is pivotably engaged with the room and the top of the ball contacts the bottom member. The ball has a shank which is connected to the pad. The bottom member provides proper friction to allow the ball to pivot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a support unit, and more particularly, to a support unit mounted to the ferrule of an umbrella so as to provide stability when using the umbrella as a cane.

(2) Description of the Prior Art

The umbrella has a ferrule at the top and when the umbrella is not in use, some users may use the umbrella as a cane or a walking stick by contacting the ferrule against the ground to get balance. However, when the ground is not a flat surface, the ferrule cannot properly provide the user an assistance to get balance.

The cane or walking stick usually has an end unit at the distal end thereof and the end unit generally includes a ball rotatably engaged with a recess of the end unit so that the end unit can pivot according the inclination of the ground. However, the ball of the conventional end unit is freely rotatable and the users may not be able to control the variable balancing action when using the cane so that the users may fall.

The present invention intends to provide an end unit mounted to the ferrule of an umbrella and the pad of the end unit is pivoted along with proper friction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an end unit mounted to an umbrella ferrule and comprises a tube having a top collar connected to the top thereof and a bottom member is received in the tube so as to define a room between the bottom member and the lower end of the tube. A ball is pivotably engaged with the room and the top of the ball is in contact with the bottom member. A shank extends from the ball and is connected with a pad. The ball is pivotable in the room with the friction provided by the bottom member so as to get better balance when using the end unit to contact the ground.

The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view to show the end unit of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view to show the end unit of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view to show the end unit of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view to show that the pad is pivoted relative to the tube of the end unit of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view to show that the umbrella's ferrule is inserted into the tube of the end unit of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view to show the second embodiment of the end unit of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view to show the second embodiment of the end unit of the present invention, and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view to show that the umbrella's ferrule is inserted into the tube of the second embodiment of the end unit of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, the end unit 10 mounted to an umbrella ferrule 31 of the present invention comprises a tube 11 having a top collar 14 connected to the top thereof. The top collar 14 has a downward tapered inner periphery so that the umbrella ferrule 31 can be inserted into the tube 11 and held by the downward tapered inner periphery as shown in FIG. 5. A bottom member 15 is received in the tube 11 so as to define a room 16 defined between the bottom member 15 and the lower end of the tube 11. The bottom member 15 has a top recess 151 defined in the top thereof and a ball 12 is pivotably engaged with the room 16. The room 16 has a downward tapered inner periphery and the ball 12 is enclosed by the inner periphery of the room 16. A top of the ball 12 is in contact with the bottom member 15 so as to provide friction when the ball 12 is pivotable in the room 16. Friction is also generated between the ball 12 and the inner periphery of the room 16. A shank 121 extends from the ball 12 and is connected to a pad 13. In this embodiment, the shank 121 of the ball 12 is a threaded rod and the pad 13 has a threaded hole 1311 in the top thereof. The shank 121 is threadedly connected to the threaded hole 1311. The pad 13 comprises a top part 131 and a bottom part 132, wherein the top part 131 has a positioning recess 1312 defined in the underside thereof and the bottom part 132 has a positioning protrusion 1321 on the top thereof. The positioning protrusion 1321 is engaged with the positioning recess 1312 to combine the top and bottom parts 131, 132. The bottom part 132 has multiple protrusions 130 extending from the underside thereof. In this embodiment, there are three protrusions 130 so as to contact the ground.

When in assembling, the ball 12 is received in the tube 11 and the shank 121 extends beyond the lower end of the tube 11 so as to be connected to the top part 131 of the pad 13. The bottom member 15 is then inserted into the tube 11 to compress on the ball 12. The top collar 14 is fixed to the top of the tube 11. The ferrule 31 of the umbrella 30 is then inserted into the tube 11 via the top collar 14. The tube 11 and the top collar 14 can be applied with adhesive which adhere the umbrella ferrule 31.

The ferrule 31 can be in contact with the top recess 151 of the bottom member 15 if the ferrule 31 is long.

When the user holds the umbrella 30 and contacts the protrusions 130 of the pad 13 against the ground, the ball 12 is pivotable in the room 16 when the ground is not flat and the pad 13 is always fully in contact with the ground to keep balance. The ball 12 is pivotable along with the friction provided by the bottom member 15 and the inner periphery of the room 16 such that the user can easily and stably operate the end unit to keep balance.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show the second embodiment, wherein the top collar 24 is threadedly connected to the top of the tube 21 and a securing ring 27 is located in the top collar 24. The securing ring 27 is made by rubber or metal so as to be cooperated with the top collar 24 and the tube 21 to compress the ferrule 31 as shown in FIG. 8, such that the ferrule 31 does not separated from the end unit 20. The bottom member 25 is received in the tube 21 so as to define the room 26. The bottom member 25 has the top recess 251 defined in the top thereof. The ball 12 is pivotably engaged with the room 26 which has a downward tapered inner periphery so that the ball 22 is enclosed by the inner periphery of the room 26.

The room 26 has a downward tapered inner periphery and the ball 22 is enclosed by the inner periphery of the room 26. The top of the ball 22 is in contact with the bottom member 25 so as to provide friction when the ball 22 is pivotable in the room 26. Friction is also generated between the ball 22 and the inner periphery of the room 26, thereby the ball 26 is not pivoted quickly and overly. The shank 221 extends from the ball 12 and is connected to the pad 23. In this embodiment, the shank 221 of the ball 22 is a threaded rod and the pad 23 has a threaded hole 2311 in the top thereof. The shank 221 is threadedly connected to the threaded hole 2311. The pad 23 comprises the top part 231 and the bottom part 232, wherein the top part 231 has a positioning recess 2312 defined in the underside thereof and the bottom part 232 has a positioning protrusion 2321 on the top thereof. The positioning protrusion 2321 is engaged with the positioning recess 2312 to combine the top and bottom parts 231, 232. The bottom part 232 has multiple protrusions 230 extending from the underside thereof. In this embodiment, there are three protrusions 230 and each of the protrusions 230 has a flat face to contact the ground.

When in assembling, the ball 22 is received in the tube 21 and the shank 221 extends beyond the lower end of the tube 21 so as to be connected to the top part 231 of the pad 23. The bottom member 25 is then inserted into the tube 21 to compress on the ball 22. The top collar 24 is fixed to the top of the tube 21. The securing ring 27 is tightened to hold the ferrule 31 of the umbrella 30 by rotating the top collar 24, thereby the ferrule 31 is secured in the tube 20.

While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An end unit mounted to an umbrella ferrule, comprising: a tube having a top collar connected to a top thereof, a bottom member received in the tube, a room defined between the bottom member and a lower end of the tube; a ball pivotably engaged with the room and a top of the ball being in contact with the bottom member, a shank extending from the ball, and a pad connected to the shank of the ball.
 2. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top collar has a downward tapered inner periphery.
 3. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom member has a top recess defined in a top thereof.
 4. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the room has a downward tapered inner periphery and the ball is enclosed by the inner periphery of the room.
 5. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shank 221 of the ball is a threaded rod and the pad has a threaded hole in the top thereof, the shank is threadedly connected to the threaded hole.
 6. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad comprises a top part and a bottom part, the top part has a positioning recess defined in an underside thereof, the bottom part has a positioning protrusion on a top thereof, the positioning protrusion is engaged with the positioning recess, the bottom part has multiple protrusions extending from an underside thereof.
 7. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube and the top collar are applied with adhesive which is adapted to adhere the umbrella ferrule.
 8. The end unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube is threadedly connected to the top collar which has a securing ring receiving therein.
 9. The end unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein the bottom part has three protrusions.
 10. The end unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein the bottom part has three protrusions and each protrusion has a flat face. 